mmmkay, so, I'm getting ready to bum my Buddy's shop for a few days and do the basics on my 283... new gaskets, yadda yadda compression is good so not to worried about internals [yet] i figured while its already on a stand getting the pretties on her, i may as well chain out the timing chain! so heres my question.... do any of you run gears in yours instead of chains????? Ive always kinna liked the sound [white trash blower] but Ive never ran them in an open motored car.....didnt know if it would drive me mad or not! it will be open exhaust also, so it'll be plenty obnoxious already!!! so whats your thoughts.........
If you put in a set of gears you will be taking them out soon! Even the cut gears advertised as "quiet" will give you a headache quickly. At least a blower quiets down a little while cruising, gears just scream non-stop.
I asked the same question a while back and it was 50/50. I asked an old timer that my dad knows who has raced since the fifty's and said if you want performance they are not that great. As noted above they just make noise, constantly. He said to save myself the money and trouble and not use one.
i ran a search....i just couldnt find what i was lookin for....that, and im an idiot! sounds like chain is what i need.....however, i have a bad back and arthitis, so i wont be in her for more then a couple hours atta time......and im already mad, so im still confused!!!! ;P nah, ill just stick to the chain plan! thanks fellers.
A buddy and I had talked about this a few years ago. He spent a lot of time at the dirt track and observed several sprint cars breaking cams. His speculation was that the gear drive set up a harmonic vibration that damaged the cam. I don't know if this is true or not. He always ran a good chain drive setup.
Not all gear drives are created equal....I have a "noisy" Pete Jackson and it's not that loud, BARELY hear it at idle, and not at all going down the road....but of course it's in my HOTROD, with loud exhaust and no radio.... And hotrods are supposed to be noisy.....gear drives, Quick changes, blowers, race trannies, open headers, etc.....
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it......... Uh, hey, why not do it?? Doc.
I put a noisy one in my model a I have open exhaust and a thumper cam the gear drive does not bother me at all I cant even hear it. However if you run mufflers the gear drive noise can get to you on long trips.
I don't see any reason to go with a gear drive unless for some reason you want to listen to them whine (sp ?). The double idler type offers no benefit over a good chain set in terms of durability or performance. In fact, an adjustable chain setup is probably better on both points.
Nothing says 'poser' like a gear drive in a motor that isn't worthy of a gear drive. Who cares if the cam timing variation is kept to within less than a degree if your beating the snot out of the valve train and causing spark ****ter with crank harmonics. We run chains or belts exclusively. With a good belt system timing variations are minimized while crank harmonics are absorbed by the belt....best of both worlds in my opinion. If the 283 is a street motor just put a good timing set in it, degree the cam and forget about it. -Bigchief.
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